Adelman-type and Hoy-type molds are well known in the food-processing industry. Both types of molds include a pair of individually operable locking mechanisms, each of which must be unlocked in order to open the mold and remove an article, such as a processed piece of meat, therefrom.
More particularly, the Adelman-type molds include a body section and a closure section. The body section has an open end and a curled rim. The closure section includes a lid adapted to be removably applied to the open end of the body section, a bracket which is resiliently urged away from the lid by a pair of springs, and a pair of ratchets, each of which is hingedly connected to the bracket so as to releasably engage the curled rim of the body section.
The Hoy-type molds, like the Adelman-type molds, employ a body section and a closure section. However, the body section is attached to the closure section by a pair of removable springs, rather than by a pair of releasable ratchets.
Although automated mold opening devices have been known for many years (see, for instance, Davis U.S. Pat. No. 1,527,674; Leopold, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 1,853,130; Goebel U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,891,976 and 1,934,188; Collins et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,718,030; Millhoff U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,897; and Borah U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,953), none of these automated devices is adapted to open molds, such as the Adelman-type and Hoy-type molds, which are equipped with a pair of individually operable locking mechanisms. Accordingly, in the past, manual or semi-automatic techniques have been used to open such molds.
One known prior art technique for opening the Aldeman-type molds involves moving a mold engaging plate, which is carried by a pneumatically operated plunger, into contact with an upwardly facing bottom surface of a body section of an inverted mold. When the mold engaging plate contacts the bottom surface of the body section of the mold, a lever, which is also carried by the plunger, cooperates with a hand tool to disengage one of the ratchets from the rim of the body section. The other ratchet must be manually disengaged from the rim of the body section. Upon the removal of the closure section from the body section, a blast of air is employed to eject the molded product from the body section of the mold. The closure section and the molded product must then be manually transported away from the mold opening and emptying station.
Techniques have also been developed to automate the handling of an open mold and its contents (see, for instance, Schulze U.S. Pat. No. 1,938,048). However, these prior art techniques are not suitable for use in connection with Aldelman-type and Hoy-type molds.